Leveling instrument



H. RITUW.

LEVELING INSTRUMENT.

APPLlcAmN FILED Aus.22. 1921.

1 ,41 0,958, Patented Mar. 2s, 1922;

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. 3 `y Y W/ mms/f5 Mja@ H. RITOW.

LEVELING lNSTRUMENT. APPucmoN man Aue.2z, 1921.

1,410,958. Patented Mar. 28,1922.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ff@ 7 MTW WIT/YESSES N MT seres' .eireeir HERMAN mrow, yor CHICAGO," rLLINoIs.

Lnvnnme INSTRUMENT.

ritenne.

Application led-August i921. Serial No. 494,170.

Be `it known that I, llinmiir' limon', n citizen of theiUnit-ed `fiitutes, und :1. resident oit Chicago, in the eoul'ityotCool; and Stat-e of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leveling` Instru 1nents,-of which theffollowing' is a speeicw` tion, referenceheing had'to the aCcompeny`-,

ing; clrzuvings.

This invention relates to impro vements in that class of surveying instruments that are used to establish points of equnlheight or level. It is the object `oil' the invention to provide un instrument 'for this purpose the will he cheep to munirlicture'e simplein con-` struction, und easy of operntionh)v ordinary 'mechanicslVhile not Inhnnrily designed lor yuses Where u high degree-Loli accuracy required,`the apparatus kembedying` my invention is one thatuill `greatly silnplifgfY the operations attendent upon `the. taking of levels `in `manyl situtitionsynm-l 7will ohi'iate many ot' the errorsof adjustment of such instruments when the/,sonne` are inthe hands' oil." vthe average mechanic. I i

l attain the object speeilied hy the conf 'struction and l:irrane'enientolt parts shown in the drawings; und :hereinafter particle;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vdetail being 2t vertie @el section taltenat therline 4-4 et' Fife Vl. und illustrating one kof `the eers connected with find projecting from the mein liquide containing chamber; f

Fig.. 5 is n planfview of thevr parts shown in FigA 4l; 4` l. i

F 6 is zinenlarged detail being :i ver-k tical section teken on the 'line (36 of Fig. l;

viewlof one of the end portionsio the .vernier our and `parte connected therewith;

Fig'. 8 is a View in elevation oi the parts shown in Fig. 7'; and

Fig'. 9 is en enlarged detail, being e. vverti- `Speoii'icaton of Letters Patent-` En iugm-t@ helder 3 projects.

nim-j se, ieee.v

en! section teiten on the line 9-+9 of Fig.' l

through the Vernier bei' und Certo-in parts connected therewith. -f

` Referring to the several ligures or" the druwings,`l .in/dientes t sighting member. the upper surfizice of which is to he es neer u geriteet plane as possible,.inasmueh is the 1 sighting. hg; the user neross such surface trom u point :it one edgethereof 'to another point on the edge. rhe sightingv memheizin the construction shown, is in theform ol a Wheel, und for convenience Will hereinafter* he i'eterred to es e.. wheel.. `The rinnspokes und huh the Wheel ure pret'ernhlty formed integral `with -neh other. support'edihy sind uhoe u unter Container which, in the.oonstruetionshown, is in the rhe wheel. `1 Vis torni `often annuler tnlxwund of somefvhzitgreater diameter thun the wheel l The WheelA l is supported from the annular tube.

2 vat three points equidistunt .from eeeh other, und at each point ol support the connection of thetwo parts is mede through at sleeve??.surrounding the tube 2 :ind suitably seein-ed thereto. yinto the upper Surfin-ee `of which isv screwed a., holder l in which 'is' t 'l `mounten e glass tube i that, is shown, rises to some distance above 'the upper end oit the opening therein? through whieh opening` the rlhe opening` in the ear.

` holder 3. l Projectingfrorn thewh'eel lis an enr 9 ho. une horizontal portion with an is o i: considerably greater diumeter than theV diameter et theliolder that goes through it, :which is for the purpose i l wheelV l to hendjusted horizonti-,rllvtorn purpose hereinafter set forth. Soreuied upon f the hoder are two nuts 6, one nhove und one helen' the eur 9, vindi itisevident: that by n olf permitting the' turm'ngy ol2 these nuts the Wheel eztnfjhe ad!r .jnsted up or down :is desired, and'when in the required position can he firmlyfheld by tightening such nuts ngjglinst the' ear. t is erident that sever-elly adjusting the .nuts at Jhe three points or" Isupport referred to the Wheel l een he broughtintoposition to. hure its upoerplnne surface. horizontal.7 and` thereby he adapted for sighting purposes,

stated.

The .horizontality ot the upper surface of; the sighting `theel 1 is determined by the.

inet that the sighting pla-ne `of seid wheell appears in e direetline Withthe meniscus` or slightly eurved surfaceo'l? `the Column oI1 hes heen determined that. the two screws `on 1 p '.110 liquid in. each gloss tube 4. It is Aafter this @sul of uiehoiders are tig-henares@ time thereafter the wheel 1 will be yheld firmly Preliminary to this accurate ad` in place. justment of the wheel the operator will, of course, bring the device as a whole into such position that the members 1 and 2 are approximately horizontal, and this hefwill Vio do Vby adjustment of the three legs 22 which are suitably connected with the tube 2 through the medium of clamping devices 21 secured thereon at points equally spaced.

vEach of the glass tubesfl is, of course,

- open at its upper end to the atmosphere and Vthrough one of theseV open ends the required.

amount of liquid may be supplied to the tube '52 and the tubes 4 that rise therefrom. Around that portion of each tubeet that ex- -tends above its holder 3, I provide a protector 5 which will be cutaway suiiiciently, of course, to permit the liquid rising in such tube to be plainly viewed;

VThe instrument comprises a'veriiier deviceto adapt itrfor the measuring of horizoiital angles, which device comprises a Vernier bar 1() extending across the wheel or sighting membei 1, which baris pi'voted centrally of such .member 1. In order to accurately securefa'pivoting of such bar 10 so' that the axisof'rotation of the vernier is made `exactly at right angles to the sight plane fof the wheel 1, l provide in the hub i" member ofthe Wheel a bushing 12. which tions overlie the Yedge portions ofthe upper` screws 19 Vor otherwise.

may' be secured to said hub member by The inner face of this bushing is tapered downward, and within it accuratelyfits a pivot 11, upon a reduced upper end portion of whicliis secured in any suitable'manner the central portion ofsaid vernici' bar 10.` The vernier bar differs in no material respects from other verniers, other than that while its end porface` of the wheel 1, its central portion is depressed, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2, below the plane ofv such upper portion-such dc-` lpression being had "so that no obstruction will be offered asthe user sights along the Lplane of themember 1 when using it to establish levels. The vernici' bar carries at each of its ends an ordinary tangent screwl member 15 inthe form of a shell or case, as shown in Fig. 9, into which lrejects at one endV a clamping rod 13 wliici'differs from the ordinary construction only in that it,

f like the bar 10, is centrally depressed for the correct adjust-ment of the vernier device has been made as usual.l This rod 13 is provided centrallyy with an eye as shown vin Fig. 6

and with the axis'of the inner face of the that fits over the bushing 12, and rests upon the hub memberv of the wheel 1, and it is held in any desired adjusted position by one ormore set screws14- as shown. The wheel 1 and the Vernier-bar 10 will be provided Withthe usual g as will be understood. Y

The use of the instrument for establishing points of equa-l height or level vhas been in part described "in connection'with'the state-V ment of the construction of the apparatus, but briefly is as follows --lVith the Vrequired amount of liquid in the tube 2 and the three tubes 4 that rise therefrom'and communicate therewith, the operator will bring the tube 2 to an approximately horizontal position by an adjustment of the supporting tri#- pod legs 22. Thereafter by a successive turning of the nuts 6 to cause a raising or lowering of the respective ears 9 the wheel 1l will be moved until the surface of the column of liquid in each tube 23 appears to be'exactly in line with the plane vupper surface of the wheel. When that has been accom# plished it is evident that the sighting plane must, of course, be level, and thereafter the operator will sight along said plane upper surface from one edge thereof to the other, and by the aid of a helper, stationed at the desired distant point, as usual, will be able i to nia-rk a point that appears exactly in the plane of the upper surface of the wheel. ln this operation the vernier mechanism, by`

vreason of being depressed to quite a portion of its length below the sighting pla-neef the wheel. will offer no obstruction 4to the sighth ing, although if for any reason it be'desired to remove the vernici' device, such removal can be easily and quickly effected by simply loosening the set screws 14, and pulling the y i pivot member 11 out of the bushing v12.

When the instrument is used for the measuring ofhorizontal angles, it is'to be set up as'hereinbefore described,and with the vertical lairis of the wheel as nearl;7 over the point at 'which the angle is to be measured as can be judged by the eve of the` operator, and then with a plumb-bob sus pendedfrom a hook in the lower end of the pivot y11 the wheel 1 is to be shifted laterally until such plumb-bob is directly over the desired point. This lateral shiftingr ofV the wheel is permitted byV a loosening of the several nuts' 6 and the large Vsize of the openings in the ears 9. After `the desired lateral adjustment 'has been made, Vthe various nuts 6 will.` of course, be tightened. The required measurements by the use of the vernier are then taken in exactly the same manner as is customary with ordinary transits. Each zend of thevernier member will be provided with two vertical sightsl 20, as usual. Y

llVith the upper surface of the wheel1r as near a perfect plane as" can Vbe produced,

'raduations markedthereon,

llfl

y bei: having a plane .v uppersurface,` l a liquidi CII GOi

loi the columns ot liquidin` saidtubes.

A3. An instrument of theclassdescribedv comprising-4 iin `combination n; sighting -memfA bushing. l2 asnearly atriglitaiigles tothe sightingplane as possible,I thezinstrument will be found to be one `that-:isnot onlj7 cheap to construct; and easjito Yoperateybut one that will permit otyvery accurate operations. The accuracyo vthe level., Awill then depend 'only` upon the: sharpness ot the operators eyesight; andpoif coursetosome` extent on the diam-eter ot the *sighting wheelv :for the greater Asuc-lr diameter the greater varc'the chances for accuracy incre-` sults,` v 1.3 l ,f c

-flWhile I have described the particular .tormand construction `of asighting member l and water 'containingmember 2, it is to` be understood that while such forms and constructions are particularly well i adapted for theicarryingjout of my invention7` I do not restrict fmyself thereto excepty as thc saine may-Abe specified in some: ott-he claims,

ldhatl claim 'as my invention `and desire to secure bylliettersvPatent,isw-y i l. An instrument 'ofv the class described comprising in combinationa sightingI memw ber :having a plane uppeiysurtace, a liquid-il containing chamber, a pluralityv of transparent ,tubes :communicating with chamber and rising-thereitrom adjacent tu the perimeter-ot ysaid sightingymember, andy means for adjiistiiig--said sijglitingfmembery tobringfthe said; plane surface thereof on` a level with i, the :surface ofi the' ,columns in lE liquid in said tubes.y v y i :Qui/in.4 instrument ot'nthe Yclass describedV comprising-in'combination :i sighting meincontaining;` chamber,ya' pluralityy ot transp arent, I, tubes communicating with chamber and risiugitherefrom vadjacent to the perimeteriof saidsigliting member, and

means adjustablyy coiinecteclwith said tubes andi also connected Awith saidv sighting member adapted to bringY the said plane surface ot suchcmemberon a level with the surface ber having a plane upper surtacma liquidcontaining chamber a plurality ot transparent.. tubes `;communicating Y withl said chamber.y and rising theretromv adjacent to the i perimeter of said,` sighting inem-v bei' means for adjusting said sightingfmember tobring the said-plane surface thereof on a level `with the surface'vof thecolumns oi liquid in said tubes, and means tor lock-` ingisaid sighting` meinberlin place. Y

Il. An instrument of the class described comprising` in combination a sightingm'emberqhavinga planeuppersurface7 a liquid-1' containing v`chamber,` a plurality of tubes communicatingv therewith and rising theretrom, al screw-threaded sleeve Vsui-.rotindin-gieach tube and. securedtolthe."wallrof said chamber, a uut rotatable on each holden said said e each tube andsecuredto the wall of saidi' chamber, a pair `of nuts rotatable Von each'v holder, and a plurality ot earsfcoiinectedl with 'said sighting member andf projecting` between said pairs of :earsy respectively, wherebj7 the sighting memb'ermay be ad-y justed and locledinposition withits said plane surfaceon aflevell with.` the surface of the columns of liquid insaidtubes.'

6. An instrument of ,the class: described comprising in* combination 4za liquid-confv tainingl chamber-ormed ofa tube bentV intoV annular forrm' a pluralityl ot', transparentvr tubes communicatingtherewith .and rising therefrom and spaced atzfequal ydistances apart, a circular sighting member havinga plane upper surface, the perimeter of said sighting` memberbeing inl proximity; to said` transparent tubes, and means 'for ad..v justing` said sighting memberto bringv ther said plane-.surface thereof vcna level with: the surface of the columns otjliquid ii'ilsaid transparent tubesa i 1. '7. Ani-instrument :otthecla-ss `described comprisingin Vcombination a liquid-contain# ingwchamber formed of a tubeY bentinto. annularftorin, a' plurality of transparent'tubes i communicating therewith: and rising 'there- 1105 fromr andV spaced at equal distances apart,fa" ciicularsighting member having' a plane uplv per surface, Athe `perimeter ot saidsghting member being. inIproXimity to said transi parent-tubes,,.andnieans surrounding each;

of said transparent tubes andfindependently adjustable and connected'with said sightingi iiieiiibeiior moving said member to bringits f said `plane surface on a level withathe 'sur-l1 face of the columns otliquid in said transparenttubesu. i

8. An instrument ot the class described comprising fin "combina-tion a liquid-contain` ingiichamber'tformed` of a i tube bent` into annular zform, a plurality of Atransparent` tubes .communicating "therewith and: rising therefromA andfspaced fatl equal distances apart,v ran.. annularsighting body locatedV above the". plane :occupied by said aiinulargy tubel and:A having itsrperipherj1 vadjacent to said transparenttubesg'said sighting bod/ vs having a plane upper surfacegand meansl for .adj ustably'connecting sai-d annular tube and sig'liting'body'to allow said plane surfat-e' of thesighting'bodyv to bebrought on i a level with the surface o-f the'columns of liquid insaidtransparenttubes; v

9. Anl instrument ofthe class nu ar form, a plurality of transparent tubes communicating'therewith and risingl thereportion of the-Vernier. device overlying tliev rimofsaid sighting member, and a portion of thelength of said vernier; device ylying below the plane of the upper surface of the 2 ing cha-m fromandspaced at equal distances apart,

an annular sighting-body located above the plane voccupiedby said :annular tube' and tubes communicating "therewith and risingl therefrom, a Wheel-shaped siglitingmember 'having' airplaneuppersurfaoe, means for adjusting. .said sighting member relatively i tothe saidl chamber tobriiig thel saidfiplane surface on a level with thesurfaceof.` the columns of liquid in lsaidw-tubes, and. a ivernier device extending across. :the sighting member: and pivotally mounted one-a. vertical axis in' thehub of said member, an end poi'-l tion of the. vernier device overlying the rimof said sighting member.

11. An instrument of tubes communicating ltherewith and .rising therefrom,- a .wheel-shaped sighting member Y havingV a plane-upper surface, means for adiusting said l sighting member. relatively; .to

tliezsaid chamber Vto `bring the said plane surface; Ona levelwith the surface ofthe columnsl Vof liquid,V inVV said: tubes, and a evcrnier device `extending acrossthe sighting member and pivotally mounted -on' a vertical axis fin the li'uh fof said membeig an end sighting member. f Y l .12.' An instrument ofV the Y class described comprising) tubes *communicating therewith and rising therefrom, a `wheel-*shaped sightingr memberv i having `a plane upper surface,jmeans for adjusting said sighting member, relatively` tothe said chamber to bring the said plane Y surface Von a level 'with the surface ofthe Vcolumns `of liquid in said tubes, a vernier device extendingV across'the sighting member and pivotally vmounted on*A a vertical axis Ain-the vrhub of said/member, said sightingy Y described j Y comprising in combination a liquid-contain- 5 in chamberformedof a tube bent intoranthe classi described comprising ina `combination av liquid-contain-V ing chamber,v plurality of transparentV in combination a liquid-contain# er,` a plurality of transparentmemberv being laterally adjustable tobfringl its vertical axis directly over a given point,- and means for locking said sighting member against movement afterr iti has been given both of the lsaid adjustments. Y

13. Anlinstrumentv` of thel classrdescribed` comprising iii combination a liquid-contain! ing chamber, a plurality of 'transparent tubes communicating therewith and rising therefrom, awheel-sh-aped sighting member having a plane upper surface, anV ear surrounding each of saidtubes, the openingin each*V ear being suiiiciently vlarge to permit of a lateral bodily adjustment of the sighting member to carry its vertical axis directly'r'over a predetermined point, means for separately adjusting said ears vertically to' bring the said plane surface of the sighting member on a levelY with the surface of the columnsv of liquid' in said tubes, means for locking' said ears against inovement,and

a vernici member-)pivoted on al vertical in thehub ofsaid sighting member. i

14. In an instrumeiito'f the class described the Acombination 'of a wheel-shaped sighting member having a plane "upper surface, a

pivot'niembcr mountedinf'the hub of said wheel-shaped sightingmember with the axis" ,thereof at'right angles tothe said plane surf face of thesig'htiug membenavernier device i' connected.` witlrsaid pivot .member and overlying the' said pla-ne surface 4of the sightingv'rmember, and means for bringing the saidplane surface to a horizontal position.

' 15. In'aninstrument ofthefcl'ass described the combination-of'a wheel-'shaped sighting' member having a*'planeupperV surface,ka

pivot member mounted in the 'hub of said wheelshaped sightingmember with the axis' thereof at right vangles to the said 4plane surface of the sighting membeig'a vernici Y device connected-with said pivot member and overlying the said plane surface of the sighting member, `and meanscomprising a plurality fof vertical water columns disposed adjacent lthe rim oftheA sighting'-v member for determining plane surface. j A n 1.16; Inan instrument ofthe class'described the combination of 'a wheel-shaped'sighting member having a planeupperl surface, a

. the -horizontality of said Pivot member mounted in the hubof said y wheelfshapedcsighting member with the axis thereof at right angles. to the said plane surface ofthe sighting'member, a vernierk deviceconnectedwith said pivot member and overlying the4 said planeV surface of. the sighting member, said vernier device fora portion of its length being depressed below the said plane upper surface of the sighting member, and; means comprising a plurality of verticalwater columns disposed adjacent mining the horizontality of said' 'plane surface. Y f

.the rim of the sightingmemberfor deter#r 1T. In an instrument of the class described the combination of a Wheel-shaped sighting member having a plane upper surface, a bushing seated in the hub portion of said sighting'member, a pivot member mounted in said bushing with the axis thereof at right angles to the said plane surface of the sighting membeiza Vernier device connected with said pivot member and overly ingl the said plane surface of the sight-ing member, and means for bringing the said plane surface to a horizontal position.

- 18. In an instrument of the class described the combination of a Wheel-shaped sighting in. said bushing with the axis thereof at right angles tol the said plane surface of the sighting member, a Vernier device connected with said pivot member and overlying' the said plane surface of the sighting member, and means for bringing the said pla-ne surface to a horizontal position, said sighting' member beinelaterally adjustable in all directions to'bringv the axis of said pivot member over a predetermined point. HERMAN RITO'W'. 

